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Samaritan Snare (episode)
The Enterprise lends assistance to a crippled Pakled ship. Summary The Enterprise is on route to the Epsilon 9 sector for an astronomical survey of the Epsilon pulsar cluster. Captain Picard is having a discussion with his Chief Medical Officer Doctor Pulaski over Picard's cardiac implant, which needs to be replaced on Starbase 515. This procedure should have been performed earlier, but Picard has ignored it for too long. When Doctor Pulaski proposes performing the procedure on board the Enterprise, Picard refuses, being concerned with his image, and reluctantly agrees to make the trip to Starbase 515. Wesley Crusher is also going to Starbase 515 to take Starfleet exams, which Data found quite elementary. Wesley is surprised when Picard tells him that he will be travelling with him, and asks Geordi and Gomez what he should talk about while travelling with Picard. .]] First Officer Will Riker is wondering why Picard is taking this trip, since he knows that Picard was looking forward to seeing the Epsilon pulsar cluster, when the Enterprise receives a distress call from the Rhomboid Dronegar sector 006. The distress call was sent by the starship Mondor, which is manned by the Pakled. When Riker asks what is wrong, the only answer he gets is that their ship is broken and that they need help. When he asks what the nature of their mission is, he gets the answer that they "look for things that make them go". When he asks more questions he gets the same answers. Data has scanned their ship, so the crew know what is wrong. Riker decides to send Geordi to repair the Pakled ship. Worf protests against sending the Chief Engineer, but since Riker thinks that the Pakleds pose no danger because of their speech impediment and their appearance, he only sends Geordi. Later on Counselor Troi proves him wrong and tells him that Geordi is in grave danger. Wesley tries to make conversation with Captain Picard, when Picard confides in him that this trip was not his idea and that he hates the prospect of a cardiac replacement. Wesley, not knowing that the captain had a cardiac implant, asks him why it needs to be replaced and why Doctor Pulaski could not perform the procedure. Geordi has fixed the guidance system, but then there is a main power failure. Meanwhile the Pakleds keep asking if he "can make it go". With Geordi forced to stay longer on the Mondor, Riker gets irritated, because it seems that they need more than minor repairs. When he offers to tow them to the nearest starbase, the Pakleds say that Geordi can make them go. As the Enterprise tries to beam-up Geordi, the Pakleds stun him. A quick scan tells Riker that they cannot beam Geordi out and that all systems on the Mondor are working perfectly. Their shields seems to be more advanced than the current state of Pakled technology. Over a coffee and a sandwich Picard and Wesley engage in some small talk on kids, women, discipline and why Picard never married. Picard also tells him how he came about the cardiac implant. When he was at the Bonstell Recreation Facility, at Starbase Earhart with some friends, he picked a fight with three Nausicaans. Having one Nausicaan down in a joint lock, Picard got impaled by a Nausicaan stake. The only reason he survived is because a medical facility was nearby. On the Enterprise Riker is considering the options they have when Data tells him that the malfunctions on the Pakled ship were programmed. Riker's demands to return Geordi are refused and the Pakled stun him again. For Riker to get Geordi back he has to give them all the information from the Enterprise computer. Of course, this is not an option, since it would violate Starfleet security. Meanwhile Picard and Wesley have arrived at Starbase 515 where Wesley escorts Picard to the medical facility. It turns out that Doctor Pulaski asked Wesley to make sure that Picard made it inside, which prompts Picard to say "that woman". While lying on the operating table, the surgeon tells Picard not to worry because they have done this operation a hundred times. After administering anaesthesia the surgeon starts the operation, a fecundation's cardiac procedure with mid line entry. He anticipates no problems and expects the operation team to be home for dinner. Riker plans to mislead the Pakled so that he can get Geordi back. They try to lead the Pakled to believe that Geordi is a phaser and photon technology expert. By mentioning specific words during their conversation with the Pakled ship they try to tell Geordi what they are planning to do. The Pakled tell Geordi that he must make them strong, meaning he has to fix the weaponry of the Mondor so they can attack the Enterprise. Fortunately Geordi understands what Riker wants and he changes the Pakled's weapons configuration so they don't work properly. When the Enterprise detects that the Pakled weapons are on-line they contact the Mondor and demand that Geordi be returned or they will be destroyed. The Pakled response that "they are strong now" and that they "want respect". Riker starts a countdown of the time the Pakleds have to return Geordi. When the Pakleds try to fire at the Enterprise nothing happens, Geordi telling them that they have disarmed the Mondor by using a crimson force field. The Pakleds, convinced that they are "not strong", drop their shields and Riker beams Geordi back to the Enterprise. During this ruse Lieutenant Worf received a message that Captain Picard is close to death and the Enterprise needs to go to Starbase 515 as soon as possible. During Picard's operation there were complications, which the surgeon is not qualified to resolve. A biomolecular specialist knows someone who is. When Picard awakens from his anaesthesia he sees Doctor Pulaski and when he asks what she is doing here she tells him that she saved his life. Picard find this hard to believe, as this is a standard operation and is more concerned that the entire Enterprise now knows of his condition. When Picard returns to the Enterprise bridge to the applause of some of the bridge officers, which he does not appreciate, he is pleased to report that Wesley Crusher's test results permit him to continue to study on board the Enterprise and that any rumours with his brush with death are greatly exaggerated. The Enterprise once more sets course for the Epsilon sector. Background Information * The late Christopher Collins next Star Trek role is as Durg in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Passenger". * The surface of the Starbase 515 planet is the reused matte painting of Angel I from "Angel One". * Grebnedlog is "Goldenberg" backwards, though what significance this has is unknown. Continuity * In response to Ensign Crusher's comment on the ETA to Starbase 515 and the shuttle's lack of warp drive, Captain Picard related it to a "late 22nd century interplanetary journey". This is a conflict in canon seeing as in 2151, Starfleet vessels are capable of Warp 5 (namely the Enterprise (NX-01) and the Columbia (NX-02)). Only a speed of warp 2 is required to traverse the Sol system. Links and References Special Appearance By * Diana Muldaur as Katherine Pulaski Guest Stars *Christopher Collins as Grebnedlog *Leslie Morris as Reginod *Daniel Benzali as Surgeon *Lycia Naff as Sonya Gomez *Tzi Ma as Biomolecular Specialist References Bussard collector; cardiac implant; coffee; crimson force field; Bonestell Recreation Facility; ''Enterprise'' shuttlecraft 02; Epsilon IX sector; Epsilon Pulsar Cluster; Farspace Starbase Earhart; forced spectrum communcation; hydrogen; James, William; Jarada; Klingon Empire; Mayday; Mondor; Nausicaan; neural calipers; Pakleds; parthenogenic implant; photon torpedo; pulsar; Rhomboid Dronegar sector 006; Romulans; Sakharov; Starbase 515; Starfleet Academy; tissue mitigator; Type-7 shuttlecraft; Van Doren; venturi chamber Category:TNG episodes de:Das Herz eines Captains nl:Samaritan Snare